Chapter 21: Don's Return (Part II)
The excited players jumped up from their seats, pulled their necks, blushed and roared, and even those who were not on the team last season couldn't help but clench their fists and feel their blood rush. The nostalgic locker room atmosphere of the first half of the year is gradually returning.
Walker watched Donn, who roared with the players. A simple phone call can be used to do what he wants...... Tony, Paul. Hart didn't misread you; Ian. Bowyer wasn't mistaken about you; The "boss" will not mistake you. As for me, I'm so lucky to work with you. But it's a pity...... So far this season.
Donne's half-time adjustment came as a complete surprise to the Crystal Palace manager. Rebrov is still on the pitch, but his position has changed from a striker to a midfielder! Steve. Camper turned his head to look at assistant coach Blevant: "Terry? ”
Blevant's answer was to shake his head, he didn't quite understand.
Standing behind the centre circle waiting for kick-off, Rebrov suddenly noticed that the pitch in front of him was so wide and the gap between the opposing defenders was so wide. From striker to midfielder, just changing his position on the field, he saw a completely different world than before.
He turned his head to look at the home team's dugout on the sidelines. Don stood there, shouting something to him, waving his hands, but he couldn't make out the accented English. It doesn't matter, I know what I'm supposed to do.
I've got good technique, I'm fast, I'm good at dribbling, so I don't have any problems plugging in the back row and breaking through the ball! When I played with Shepchenko at Dynamo Kyiv and opened the doors of AC Milan and Barcelona, I wasn't a pure striker either, Andrei was up front, I would drop back, I would pass the ball to him and he would score.
I'm a midfield playmaker! I can't score, but I can assist!
He looked at the tall but bulky British defenders and laughed. When you put me in front of the goal, that's when you're out of luck...... I promise.
Walker, who was sitting in the coach's box, saw Donn turn back, he had just shouted on the sidelines for Rebrov to pass the ball more, and he ran more interspersed, and he didn't know if the Ukrainians heard it.
'Tony, how did you suddenly think of switching to a striker who has never played in midfield in training to play in this position in the game?' Walker asked, pointing to Rebrov on the field.
'Rebrov's problem is not that he doesn't have a good enough level, it's that he doesn't adapt to the English style of play, and he presses fiercely with the defenders, and over time he loses the confidence to shoot, and then the rest of the confidence is lost along with it. His skills are still there, they just haven't been put in the right position. I told him to pull back, away from the defenders he was afraid of, to give him space to move and to get him right in the right direction. With his skills and awareness, he can still play a big role in League One. Also......" Donn looked at the away team's dugout next door and smiled, "Crystal Palace's current manager is an idiot, he is not as good as his assistant coach. This kind of change will make him scratch his head and make wrong judgments. We've got to win this game. You know what, Des, I suddenly changed my mind. ”
"What's the idea?" Walker didn't understand.
'Not only do we have to make a breakthrough in the cup competitions, but I also want to be promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season!'
Walker's eyes widened as he looked at Donn, whose mouth was almost to the base of his ears.
"Don't you believe it, Des? Even if we're bottom of the table now, it's not impossible to be the league champion by the end of the season. ”
Seeing such a confident Donn, Walker muttered, "What a crazy plan......"
The game has begun, and Donn has risen from the dugout, and he is going to the sidelines to direct the game. Before leaving, he turned his head to look at Walker, and gave him a more shocking goal: "First Division winner, English Premier League place, English League Cup or FA Cup winner, UEFA Cup qualification...... This time, I won't fail! ”
John and the others stood in the stands with a plastic mug of beer in their hands and continued to watch the game.
"Why is that Ukrainian still on the field? Why didn't Tony swap him out? I can tell he can't do it at all! "Someone complained.
John glared at him: "You're so good, you go to be the head coach!" Watching the game honestly, you still don't believe him? Tony never let us down! ”
Crystal Palace manager Steve. Camper was the club's sporting director, not the manager, and his ability to lead the team resulted in Crystal Palace finishing third from bottom after 22 league games.
He didn't see any point in Donne's adjustment.
If you can't score a goal, let the striker play in the midfield? Tony. Coach Donn, your tactical changes are too much to take for granted!
Playing 451, two defensive midfielders, do you want to concede fewer penalties at home? Stop dreaming, my Andrew is in perfect shape!
He had just finished his mental muttering when the Forest team snatched Andrew from the backfield. Johnson's ball, then passed by Gunelson to Rebrov, who was waiting sideways in front - Donn had specifically given an account to Forest's attacking organisation, and now to Rebrov. Give him full trust and hopefully get a completely different super player.
Rebrov, who got the ball, found that no one rushed up to his own defense at the first time, he calmly adjusted the football, and then dribbled towards the Crystal Palace defense.
"Sergey. Rebrov, he dribbled past a ...... The second! It's hard to believe that this is the same Rebrov we once saw! He passed the third Crystal Palace defender and he burst into the box-"
Rebrov found that the defenders he had once feared were nothing more than stakes. Yes, he looked at it from a different angle and found that the whole world was different!
Crystal Palace defender Darren. Darren' Powell rushed up, and Rebrov deftly slammed the ball away, intending to continue wiping it in, but was tripped by the opponent.
"Darren. Powell...... Penalty kick! Penalty kick! The TV announcer shouted.
Before the referee's whistle blew, a louder roar rang out at the City Stadium.
"Penalty-!!"
Done, who had seen this scene from the sidelines, jumped up from the ground. Damn, I made the right bet!
The referee ran to the foul and pointed to the white dot in the middle of the box - yes, a penalty!
"It's a penalty, no doubt! Rebrov single-handedly broke through the entire Crystal Palace defence and won the equaliser for his team, and his performance was almost the same as before! Tony. Donn, the magician, what did he say at halftime? Just let Rebrov change his position, let the Ukrainians be reborn! ”
Rebrov, who had fallen into the box, rose from the ground and saw Palace players begging for mercy around the referee, while Forest's team-mates lunged at him with open arms...... Then, again, he collapsed on the court.
Penalty kick? Did I create it?
That's a good feeling!
Andy. Reid converted Rebrov's penalty into the back of the net, and the stands erupted in loud cheers again. They cheered for Reed, who was leaving the team during the winter break. Of course, this time Rebrov's name also appeared in their cheers.
Forest's equaliser stunned the Crystal Palace players and their manager, and fifteen minutes later, Rebrov finally scored!
While all the defenders were trying to prevent Rebrov from breaking through, he opted to shoot hard from outside the box. The football slammed straight into the door of the Crystal Palace team like a cannonball!
"Sergey Rebrov !!" There were loud cheers from the stands.
"This is Rebrov! This is the Rebrov who partnered with Shepchenko and made both AC Milan and Barcelona tremble! ”
On the court, Rebrov was pressed under him for the second time by his teammates, and Donn, who was on the sidelines, was hugged hard by the excited Walker.
"I believe in you, Tony! We can, we really can! ”
At the same time, in the VIP box, Evan. Dogetty got up from his seat and greeted the frustrated Crystal Palace president Simon. Jordan stretched out his hand, and he was happy that he didn't dance rudely in front of the other party.
"It's a shame, Michael. Mr. Jordan. He said with a smile, "Although you have the same name as the American basketball god, it's a pity that this is a football game." ”
Simon. The expression on Jordan's face was even more embarrassed, his hand was stretched out in the air, and he couldn't hold it, and he couldn't collect it...... Outside the box, the roar of the Forest fans was heard: "Victory!! "It was like a thunderbolt in the night sky, reflecting the pale face of Mr. President of the Crystal Palace.
Pierce. Bruce looked around the boiling stands in the press box, and then at Tony as he was off the field and the players who ran back to celebrate the goal. Dawn. He suddenly thought of the phrase, the one he had heard when he had taken him to the forest bar.
The man stood right there, in the middle of a crowd of admirers, with open arms as if to embrace the whole world. In "Tony! Tony", he was like a lion, the king of beasts, roaring.
"Someday, someday I'll be back! When the time comes, you'll hear even greater cheers than that! ”
Bigger cheers...... The stands at his feet trembled at the louder cheers, his eardrums bulging and aching, and he couldn't hear anything clearly, but he knew it was a cry to welcome the man back.
(To be continued)